The Pentagon has selected Shield AI to integrate its Hivemind autonomous software into the Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS), a one-way attack drone reverse-engineered from Iran’s Shahed 136, as part of a pilot program to field operational drone swarms under the control of a single operator.
“Bravo Zulu. U.S. Navy forces in the Middle East are advancing warfighting capability in new ways, bringing more striking power from the sea and setting conditions for using innovation as a deterrent.” – Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM Commander https://t.co/TgQ4WLbph3 pic.twitter.com/WUiAVojTht
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) December 18, 2025
The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)) is spearheading the pilot. Shield AI said Hivemind will “serve as the AI pilot for the LUCAS program, enabling groups of drones to coordinate, maneuver, and adapt together to changing conditions in real time, based on warfighter input.”
Affordable mass just got smarter.@DoWCTO (OUSW R&E) selected Shield AI to integrate Hivemind onto LUCAS, the @DeptofWar‘s new class of low-cost, one-way attack drones built to operate in large numbers.
“LUCAS is about delivering affordable mass, but mass without coordination… pic.twitter.com/5NAGTj6k9k
— Shield AI (@shieldaitech) May 19, 2026
A demonstration involving 10 or more drones is planned for the second half of 2026. The company did not confirm whether the selection is tied to an existing contract.
Unlike conventional autopilot systems, Hivemind enables dynamic in-flight mission rerouting, obstacle avoidance, and real-time threat response. If mobile air defenses engage and destroy drones within a swarm, the surviving units immediately reroute.
Shield AI said the system allows drones to “sense, decide, and act independently, without human intervention,” while a single human operator retains command authority over the swarm.
The LUCAS carries a roughly $35,000 price tag and was used in combat for the first time during Operation Epic Fury. U.S. Central Command confirmed the drone’s initial combat deployment against Iran, though the Pentagon’s chief technology officer said in March that only dozens of the systems had been produced at that point. Hivemind is also being integrated on Anduril’s YFQ-44A unmanned combat aircraft, a program at a substantially different price tier.
Brandon Tseng, Shield AI’s president and co-founder, has said that without coordination software, the value of deploying LUCAS at scale is limited.
